“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.”

-1 Peter 5:6

How many of you find yourselves getting a little antsy this time of year? We’ve been through those winter months, seen the pretty snow (and are happy to see it go), and the weather is giving little teases of those warm days to come. Having a house full of small children I have discovered that cabin fever is a very real thing. I never realized that bouncing off the walls could be such a real, literal thing. Everyone is just waiting for the chance to get outside again and enjoy the fresh air, blue skies and space to run.

I also think I start feeling a little antsy because of where we find ourselves in the Christian year. My favorite day to worship and celebrate is just around the corner, Easter Sunday. It is easy for me to want to gloss over the 6 weeks of Lent and get to the BIG day. Like a kid with his presents before him I don’t want to waste time reading the card, I want to tear into the wrapping paper and get to the good part, get to the gift.

But this morning like a loving parent does God reminded me to slow down. Sure the good stuff, the gift, is coming, but take the time to read the card was the message I heard as I read my devotion. It included the verse from 1 Peter above. Be humble before God. I read it as God telling me don’t try to race from one thing to the next jumping from one mountain top experience to the next. Take time in this season to enjoy what it has to offer. God will exalt, will lift you up to those mountain top high’s when the time is right.

My hope for all of us is that we can take the time to slow down and enjoy the season, the place we are in. There is always the “next big thing” to look forward to. But there is also time to enjoy where we are. Easter is coming, there will be singing, there will be worship, there will be a celebration of our risen, living, Lord and Savior. Lent is intended to be a time of preparation, preparing for the celebration that is to come. On the UMC.org website under the heading of ‘What is Lent’ we find:

Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism.

Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others.

Join me this month in preparing for the coming of Easter. Not by rushing through it giddily counting the days off the calendar, but rather by taking time to focus on God. Take time to reflect on all that God has provided, on the fact that the God of the universe, creator of all things, loves you and wants to have a relationship with you.